5 Things You Didn’t Know Online Reputation Management Could Do

The internet has changed lives in more ways than we could likely quantify. From ordering socks and groceries to finding directions or talking to people around the world, the internet has evolved from a shared data trove to a universal information resource. With that evolution has come the internet search. Before going to a restaurant, getting new tires, or even choosing a school district, most anyone will first do an internet search.

With the prevalence of internet searches has come a need to sort data, with most relevant/recent on top, except for the most unusual search topics. So search engines have generated their algorithms to determine the ideal search results. That means that whether you are a local business or an international one, a niche market or a wide-sweeping brand, search engine optimization and online reputation management (ORM) are part of the game.

How Does Online Reputation Management Work?

You don’t have an online presence without online reputation management. Maybe you’ve been lucky and competitors don’t do much ORM either, and so related searches bring up you or your business at the very top with plenty of positive news and information.

However, without active management, that’s an unlikely scenario. “No news is good news” is not true when it comes to searching out an individual or a business to do business with. Creating an online reputation legitimizes your business, your key executives, or any other aspects of what you do that you would want known.

If potential clients or customers are searching for you and don’t find much of anything, or what they do find about you is negative or slanderous, you can drive away business to competitors. But beyond just internet presence, here are 5 more things online reputation management can do.

5 Things You Didn’t Know ORM Could Do

Online reputation management can do so much more than just make your business visible online. ORM can also:

Remove slander — The best ORM companies can utilize online reputation best practices to remove defamatory content or reviews.

Fix image searches — If image searches show caricatures, doctored images, or unflattering pictures, those pictures can often be removed and replaced with more appropriate content. At the very least, they can be made less prominent through the generation of better content.

Protect against future possible negatives — With active online reputation management, you can generate enough useful and applicable information online to make any negative review or comment just a drop in an otherwise positive bucket.

Connect multiple platforms — A strong brand is recognizable across multiple platforms, including social media sites and news outlets (not just your own website). Online reputation management engages all of these platforms to create a unified story that will maximize impact.

Create a legacy — For any individual or business in the twenty-first century to appear established and legitimate, one expects to not only find information available online but also a history of information and a volume of information. As time goes on, a continued presence establishes a legacy and the story for both the organization itself but also its key leaders.

Get Started with Online Reputation Management

So here’s just one more thing you possibly didn’t know about online reputation management: it’s easy to get started!

While effective ORM does take a coordinated game plan, within the context of an overall marketing, promotions and PR strategy, getting started is actually quite simple. The social media and internet resources available are user-friendly. The right ORM companies have been making a difference for their clients, both in terms of reputation and also in terms of bottom line.